After Portaluppi’s extended break, Grêmio receives Novo Hamburgo

This Friday, in an early game on Saturday, Grêmio will face Novo Hamburgo at the Arena, at 8 pm. The match valid for the 9th round of the Campeonato Gaúcho will be the last before the confrontation with Campinense-PB, in Brasília, for the Copa do Brasil, on Wednesday. Next weekend, the clash will be with the biggest rival, again at home.

After the Carnival break, Grêmio players returned to activities on Wednesday. Meanwhile, coach Renato Portaluppi stayed in Rio de Janeiro. The athletes trained and prepared for the match against Novo Hamburgo, and the commander was still far from CT Luiz Carvalho. The date change in the game ended up advancing the duel by two days, and crossing the off agreement between club and coach. With that, Portaluppi held just one tactical training session with the team this Thursday.

In addition, the club is already starting to think about the Grenal scheduled for the 10th round of the Gauchão. The derby number 438 represents a big test for both clubs and coaches. It will be the first big challenge after months of test training, needing to demonstrate the evolution of the team, which received many important reinforcements.

On the changes to face Noia, attacking midfielder Vina should stay on the bench, while Cristaldo maintains the title. With good performances, goalkeeper Adriel created doubts about who will be in charge of the next game. He and Brenno are the options available to Renato. Furthermore, Carballo and Villasanti compete for the position of starting midfielder. The Paraguayan has support from the fans and has been playing good games and, therefore, can return to the team. Finally, the last doubt is on the right side. There is a possibility of the lineup of Thaciano or João Pedro, who had a good defensive performance in the last match.